Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of Monday August 12, 2024 at 7:00 PM
At South Hero Town Hall and via Zoom
Board Members Present: David Carter/Chairman, David Lane/Vice Chairman, Skip Brown/Board Secretary, and Anne Zolotas
Board Members Not Present:
Others Present: Town Personnel: Sue Arguin/TA and Martha Taylor-Varney/ZA. Also see sign in sheet of in person and Zoom attendees. *Attendance SB 2024-08-12-2024
1. Called to Order:
– The meeting was called to order by Chairman David carter at 7:00 pm.
2. Adjustment to Agenda:
-none
3. Minutes:
-Anne Zolotas made a motion to approve the minutes of July 22, 2024 and August 2, 2024. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. Gary Kjellaran of Lakeview Dr. advised the Board that he was at the Town White’s Beach on Friday August 9 during the major wind storm. One of the large cottonwood poplar trees blew down. He noted that that other trees have dead branches and may be also in danger of falling. Anne Zolotas is the Town tree warden and agreed that an inspection of the exiting trees is warranted. It is also noted that the trees give good shade and that replacing trees may be difficult due to the changing conditions and that fact that the public can be hard on new infrastructure. The Recreation Commission will also be involved with this.
5. New Business:
A. Michelle Gammal and Bridget Butler of Friends of Northern Lake Champlain (FNLC) were present to discuss the group’s mission to try to reduce phosphorous in the lake. They offer to help shoreland owners with educational outreach, design & implementation plans and monitoring of water quality. A slideshow was presented. See attached. * FNLC SouthHero_2024 Visit www.friendsofnorthernlakechamplain.org for more info.
B. This agenda item is tabled until the next meeting
C. This agenda item is tabled until the next meeting
D. The Town Hall building committee has unanimously chosen the South side of Route 2 near the exiting Town hall for a new building. The following items were discussed pertaining to this project:
-David Lane made a motion to accept the RFP as presented by the Town Hall Building Committee. See attached *RFP – South Hero Town Office Design Engineering 08.06.2024
The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
-A hazmat survey will have to be done with the existing buildings. It is suggested to hire Clay Point Assoc. when it is time to do this survey.
-A bond attorney will have to be hired. The company will help write an article to be voted for on Town Meeting Day.
-A draft of a ‘Declaration of Official Intent of the Town of South Hero to Reimburse Certain Expenditures From Proceeds of Indebtedness’ was presented. See attached. * This draft will be discussed at a future Selectboard meeting.
6. Town Administrator and ZA Reports:
A. See the written reports posted with these minutes.
B. There were 2 mobile vendor applications presented:
-Anne Zolotas made a motion to approve the Mobile Vendor license application for Art Therapy (to be sited at Allenholm Orchard). The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
– David Lane made a motion to approve the Mobile Vendor license application for Thomas Bloom (to be sited at Allenholm Orchard). The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. David Lane made a motion to approve and sign the application as presented by Fitzgerald & Assoc. for the State wetlands permit at Martin Rd. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.D. Sue Arguin stated that there were energy assessments done at the Town Garage and the South Hero Museum for the MERP grant process. More info will follow after the assessment report is completed.
7. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. The salt shed RFP is still being finalized. A RFP has to gone out for bids for the job. To date, there are no written bids received, but a phone call was made and a written bid may be forthcoming. Because time is of the essence, if a bid comes in this week, then a special Selectboard meeting may be called to review the bid(s).
B. Skip Brown made a motion to approve and sign the contract for the Town of South Hero Hazard Mitigation Planning as presented by Northwest Regional Planning (NRPC). The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
8. Announcements and Communications:
A. none at this meeting
9. Other Business:
A. Anne Zolotas made a motion to approve and sign the orders 25-03 & 24-04 and to pay the bills associated with the orders. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. Town Clerk/Treasurer updates: See above. The Town financial audit was completed last week.
C. Recreation Commission (RC) update: See above re: White’s Beach
D. Road Department update: See above.
E. Old South Hero Meeting House (OSHMH) project: Read the OSHMH minutes for updates.
F. ARPA updates: Information will be at the next Selectboard meeting
G. Wastewater (WW) update: Additional archeological test pits at Allenholm may be dug.
H. Town Hall Committee update: See Above.
I. David Lane made a motion to go into executive session for personnel matters at 8:14pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. Executive session ended at 8:28 pm. The letters of interest for the open Selectboard seat were discussed during the executive session.
When the executive session ended and the meeting resumed, Skip Brown made a motion appoint Steve Robinson for the vacant Selectboard seat for the term that will end in March of 2025. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
10. Adjournment:
-Anne Zolotas made a motion to adjourn at 8:30 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Respectfully submitted, Approved by,
_______________________________ ________________________________
Graham Brown, Secretary David Carter, Chairman